by J. T. Lewis
“Ok Jessica,” Abby again tried to steer the conversation, “Let’s get back to when you were at the restaurant. You arrived, then I assume you ordered something?”
“Oh yeah! I ordered the Filet Mignon…and a Margarita. Spencer was looking really hot, and I didn’t want to be inhibited with him…you know?”
“You mean Bill?” Abby asked with a sigh.
“Oh yeah…Bill….duh!”
“So what did you talk about then?”
“Well…that’s when it starts getting a little fuzzy…but I think he started asking about you…I think he asked if I knew a brown-haired Asian girl that might have been in my office lately. I kinda remember talking about you…I think. Oh!...and also about somebody’s dick!”
“What?” Abby asked loudly, drawing attention from people around her.
“No, that’s not right,” Jessica said, chewing her lip in thought. “I think we talked about your dad…Gabe…being a dick.”
“Excuse me?” Abby said, anger flashing in her eyes.
“Yeah…I’m pretty sure that’s right,” Jessica continued thoughtfully, “About him being a private dick.”
Jessica beamed. “I knew I could do it!”
Besides wanting to slap the stupid out of the girl, Abby had to admit that Jessica looked like the source of the information for the killer.
“Do you happen to have his phone number?” Abby asked hopefully, “Or where he lives?”
“I know he doesn’t live around here,” Jessica said thoughtfully, “he just comes in every once in awhile.”
“What about his phone number?”
Jessica shook her head. “Nope! I tried finding him on my caller ID the next day. It said the number was blocked.”
Abby gave this some thought. “You said it was around 8:00 Saturday night…when he called?”
“Yep! I remember I was just getting ready to leave the house to head to the bar.”
Abby got Jessica’s home number, and her permission to try to trace her incoming calls.
“You never did tell me why you were so interested in Spencer,” Jessica asked worriedly. “Has he done something wrong?”
Abby gave some thought to how much to tell the girl, finally deciding that for her own safety, she should warn her off some.
“We think he’s a very dangerous man Jessica. We also think he had something to do with an attack on me last night. You should stay away from him, and please let me know if he tries to contact you again.”
Jessica’s features turned suddenly angry. “Isn’t that just the way,” she lamented as she stood and collected her belongings, “The good ones are always married…or some kind of freaking psycho killers.”
With that she stalked off, leaving Abby shaking her head in wonderment.
Chapter 46
September 21, 1999
“Spencer Tracy huh?” I asked with a grin as Abby replayed the story of her interview.
“Yep! And some of what she told me I won’t even repeat, but she is definitely how this ‘Bill Jones’ found out who we were.” Abby turned thoughtful then. “The way it sounds though, he knew what I looked like before. He must have been at one of the courthouses when I was there.”
I grinned again, “I don’t suppose you remember seeing Spencer Tracy at any of the courthouses when you were there do you?”
Abby scrunched her face up at my comment. “Actually, no, I should have paid more attention I guess. But I was concentrating on getting the correct paperwork. I guess I should have been more attentive to my surroundings.”
“Don’t worry about it kid,” I tried to assure her, “What were the chances of him being at one of these courthouses the same time that we were?”
Abby shrugged gloomily. “I don’t know, but it still pisses me off.”
“You think we can track this Jones fellow?” I asked, trying to change the subject.
“Maybe!” Abby brightened, “I thought I would head to the sheriff’s department and sneak onto their computer again. Jessica said the phone number was blocked, but I may be able to track it from there…unofficially of course.”
Abby looked a little worried, “We may need to get Allen involved after all you know Gabe. There is only so much we can do on those kinds of issues without help…legally that is.”
I was still being hardheaded about the issue. Sure, they had more resources available, but they also had a bureaucracy to deal with… as well as following to a T the letter of the law. Both of these could drag an investigation down to a snail’s pace.
“I’m not ready to go there yet,” I stated simply.
Abby shrugged, “Ok Gabe, I’ll go see what I can find out on my own, but I’m not promising anything.”
With that, she gathered up some papers and left the house, throwing me a kiss before closing the door.
I shook my head with disdain. When did I become such a cynic of the law? Although she was certainly old enough to have her own mind on the subject, I was essentially leading my daughter to disregard the law.
It went against my grain to work this way. I had, for the most part, always been in law enforcement, and recognized the need for the rules that governed our society.
But…it made it hard to get something done sometimes, especially when you were dealing with a case such as ours.
I sighed, realizing that we were doing what we could, and knowing that we usually didn’t bend the rules too far.
Usually…
***
The man in the dark sedan started his motor as he saw one of his subjects approach her vehicle.
He was relatively certain that he wouldn’t be seen by her, having parked a half a block away. As she backed the Jeep out of the driveway and accelerated down the block, the man pulled the shifter into drive and slowly pulled out into the road.
Maintaining plenty of clearance, Shawn deftly tailed the jeep through the afternoon traffic as it pulled out onto the busy highway. Luckily, the black Jeep was easy to spot in the distance, allowing him to maintain an even greater space between them than he would normally have to.
The Jeep suddenly pulled off onto a side street ahead, forcing Shawn to steer his car into the outside lane so that he could make the turn. As he turned onto the one-way road, he was shocked to see that there was no sign of the Jeep ahead.
Gunning the car, the man felt panic as he tried to discern how he had lost her so quickly. Slowing at each intersection, he would glance down the cross street before gunning it ahead quickly to the next.
He had never lost a tail before, and was determined that this wouldn’t be his first.
Glancing to his right once more to look down another street, he almost didn’t see the Jeep back out in front of him from an alley until it was too late. Screeching to a stop, Shawn barely missed hitting the Jeep with the front of his car.
Had she realized that he was tailing her, He wondered?
Unnerved at the sudden reversal of roles, the man shoved the shifter into reverse and gunned the engine…only to crash into another car that had stopped closely behind him.
“What the hell?”
Looking in his rearview mirror, he saw an old blue sedan now blocking his exit, it having pulled up to within inches of his rear bumper.
Flinging open the door, he was surprised to find a man standing beside his car.
A man that looked like Elvis!
As he stared up at the apparition before him, he saw only too late that the man had swung something that crashed into his nose. Yelping in pain, Shawn was flung back into his seat, suddenly staring at the car’s ceiling.
Abruptly, the image of Elvis reappeared above him with a tight smile on his face. Feeling himself being pulled out of the car by the front of his shirt, he was then slammed abruptly against the back door.
As he stood on wobbly knees, he saw the Elvis shake his head in disdain.
“The good lord says I should forgive you for tailing my friend,” Elvis intoned, his dark glasses flashing in the sunl
ight. “And the spirit is willing…”
Shawn grinned at the statement, relief showing on his face as the blood spouting out of his nose reddened his teeth.
The last thing he remembered, however, was Elvis swinging a Bible at his head, the binding feeling like steel as it knocked him to the pavement. As he lay on the ground with unconsciousness closing rapidly in around him, he heard… “But the flesh is weak motherfucker.”
Chapter 47
September 22, 1999
Shawn Savage jumped at the powerful burning in his nose.
Smelling salts?
He then felt intense heat as he was suddenly immersed in a blinding light, the effect on his eyes extremely painful. He worried momentarily about permanent damage to his vision.
Trying to bring his hands up to cover his eyes, his muddled mind slowly realized that they were bound behind him. Trying his legs next, he was confronted with the same result.
Nervously he licked at his dry lips. They felt funny, and it took a few moments for him to realize what his tongue had tasted on them…blood!
Memories came flooding back into his mind then: Tailing the girl in the Jeep, losing sight of her before being apparently trapped between her and another car.
And Elvis?
Shawn shook his head, trying to clear the image that he knew must be wrong out of his brain.
“Hey!” he suddenly shouted to the lights as he found his voice. “Where am I? Why are you holding me?”
The room felt damp around him, the air holding the scent of fresh cut lumber and PVC cement.
He could not see past the bright lights that encircled him, but the intense heat was starting to make him uncomfortable.
“Why were you following the girl?” a male voice echoed around the room, seeming to come from everywhere…and nowhere.
Disoriented, Shawn jerked his head back and forth in an effort to find where the voice had emanated from. Trying to swallow before he replied, he found that his throat was dry and raw from swallowing blood.
“Could I get some water?” Shawn pleaded with a voice now hoarse and raspy. “I think I swallowed some blood.”
“Why were you following the girl?” the voice repeated persistently.
“I was hired to follow her,” Shawn croaked out, “I’m a private detective.”
“I have your identity with me Shawn Savage, as well as your ankle gun. Not playing fair it would seem, going after the girl with a weapon.”
“Hey! I wasn’t going to shoot anybody, that’s just for personal protection. I’ve never even fired it at anybody.”
Licking his lips, he thought again about a drink.
“I’m really not a very good shot,” he admitted to the lights. “How about some water mister, I’m dying here.”
“You weren’t hired to kill the girl?” the voice persisted.
A wild look crossed Shawn’s face suddenly. “No!” he shouted to the room, “I was hired to follow her and report on her activities. That’s all, follow her or the guy that lives in the house, I don’t even know their names.”
Shawn again licked his lips with his dry tongue.
“Please,” he begged, “I really need some water.”
The lights clicked off then, the coolness rushing in around him as the heat source disappeared.
Suddenly he felt his jaw being clamped by strong fingers as his face was jerked up toward the ceiling. Water immediately cascaded into his mouth, the sudden onslaught of liquid nearly drowning him.
His jaw released, Shawn leaned forward, coughing and hacking for several minutes as the intense lights returned.
“Feel better?” the voice echoed around him as the lights popped back on.
“You almost drowned me you crazy bastard!”
“Little enough punishment for a hired assassin,” The voice replied calmly.
“I swear to God I’m not an assassin!” the man screamed between coughs, much of the water having entered his lungs.
Shawn was deathly afraid of drowning, and the man’s “water torture” had about done him in.
“I swear to God!” he repeated, “Some guy just hired me to watch the people that live in that house…that’s all!”
“Who hired you?” the voice echoed around him insistently.
“I don’t know!” Shawn admitted freely, “A guy called me yesterday, said he would pay me $2,000 to watch this house for a couple of days, follow the occupants, and report back to him when he called. A courier came an hour later with $1,000 cash down payment, and I loaded up the car and headed here.”
“Who was the courier?” the voice asked.
“I don’t know, I didn’t pay any attention,” Shawn admitted, “I was so excited about a paying job; I didn’t pay too much attention. He was riding a bike…that’s all I know.”
Silence followed for several minutes, making Shawn even more nervous.
“Look, I’m no threat, I promise. I just got my detective’s license a month ago. This is my first real job!”
The continued silence unnerved him further…Shawn was now fearing for his life.
“Hey…mister…you want to know what I did to get my required law enforcement experience?”
After a few more minutes of silence, Shawn hastily continued.
“I was a dispatcher, for the county police force!” Licking his lips nervously, “I really thought I had gotten something over on them. But listen…I’m through! I’m done! Hell with this business, I’m going back to dispatching. You will never hear about me again…I promise! Swear to God!
The total silence that followed rang loudly in his ears as he awaited a response. His nerves shattered, he finally broke down…sobbing.
“Please mister,” Shawn cried, “I got a kid…and my mom lives with me. She depends on me mister.”
Looking around at the lights, Shawn’s face was covered with tears, his snot now running into his mouth.
“Wait here,” the voice intoned, “I will give it some thought. If someone returns within the hour, consider this your last day on earth. If no one comes…well, you can consider yourself lucky.”
With that, Shawn heard footsteps walk off, followed a couple of minutes later with a motor starting and a vehicle driving away.
Shawn started crying again.
***
Shawn was groggily napping, his head on his chest when he heard it.
The slamming of a car door!
Whimpering, Shawn quite literally pissed himself as his body shook, a cold sweat forming on his face.
It had been no more than an hour since the man had left!
Tears streamed down his face as he silently said a prayer, his eyes closed to the end he knew was coming.
“What the hell?” he heard from behind him.
Suddenly, a face appeared before him in the light.
“Hey buddy, you ok?”
The visage before him was a scruffy looking guy with a short red beard. Shawn had never seen anything so magnificent in his life!
“Yeah, yeah…just a misunderstanding with someone… can you cut me loose?
The redheaded man disappeared out of sight as Shawn’s hands were released, followed by his feet.
“Where am I?” Shawn asked, ignoring the wetness on the chair as he rose on unsteady legs.
“You’re in the basement of a house we’re building.”
“A house?” Shawn asked as the lights around him went off.
Looking around him, he could just make out the dim morning light coming in through the unfinished windows of a new basement.
“Where is this house?” Shawn asked, “What town?”
“Why, Indianapolis…South Mary Street. Where did you think you were?”
Shawn nodded silently. The man had deposited him about a half a mile from his own home.
“I’m right where I need to be,” Shawn said with a weak smile. “Say…could you give me a ride just up the road? I need to go see about a job!”
Chapter 48
&nb
sp; September 22, 1999
“Seriously?” Abby asked with an unbelieving look as we descend the small hill away from the house. If someone returns within the hour, consider this your last day on earth? She intoned mockingly.
“You know someone will be there in an hour or so…you’re incorrigible Gabe.”
I smiled at her remark. “That boy will be glad to get out of the business after they show up.”
Abby was sitting in the passenger seat, clicking through Shawn Savage’s phone.
“The number of a call that came in the other day is blocked, just like on Jessica’s phone. It certainly seems to point once more to our mysterious Bill”
I nodded as I pulled the truck onto the entrance ramp toward home. Deciding to take Shawn to the area of his home had been an easy decision… especially after Preacher dumped his car into the river.
He probably shouldn’t have done that.
We really hadn’t gotten a lot out of Shawn, except confirmation that Bill was indeed trying to keep tabs on us…AND that he probably lived around Indianapolis.
The fact that he used a local bicycle carrier to deliver cash had us leaning that way anyway. Abby was going to call around and try to find if any couriers had delivered to Shawn’s address in the last couple of days. I didn’t hold out much hope of identifying him this way though, if he had paid in cash.
We had decided yesterday to have Preacher stake out my house to see if he could spot anyone keeping an eye on us. Suspecting the unknown sedan parked a half a block away, his fears were confirmed when Shawn started tailing Abby as she left for the sheriff’s department.
Falling in behind him, Preacher had called Abby on her cell, setting up the trap.
After disabling Shawn, Abby and Preacher had tied him up with duct tape and put him quickly into Preacher’s trunk. Parking Shawn’s car on the side of the road, they had gone back after dark to dispose of it.
Following that, Abby and I had taken the still unconscious Shawn to Indy in the SUV, leaving Preacher at home to watch the house.
